Clinical Educators' Teaching Approaches and Attributes in Laboratory Medicine.

The quality of clinical experiences for students in health care professions relies heavily on clinical educators. Hence the quest to be informed on qualities that make great clinical educators in medical laboratory professions as well as teaching methods. A 48-question survey was developed, validated, and distributed to laboratory professionals in the American Society for Clinical Pathology database. Four questions pertaining to teaching and evaluation as well as clinical educators' attributes were evaluated in the study. Responses were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences. Descriptive statistics were performed with the P value set at .05. The results revealed that communication and motivation to teach were most valued among clinical educators and empathy was the least valued attribute. Educators reported on different approaches to teaching and evaluating students. Clinical educators could benefit from training that highlights these attributes and teaching methods for great clinical experiences both for educators and students.

Establishing the Need for Standardized Clinical Educator Training Programs for Medical Laboratory Professionals.

BACKROUND: There is minimal, if any, training for clinical educators in medical laboratory professions. This leads to challenges with teaching, assessment and workload/training balance. Hence, the need for standardized clinical educator training. METHOD: A survey was developed, validated and deployed to medical laboratory professionals. Responses were analyzed using SPSS. Responses from two open-ended questions-is clinical educators' training important and how is this training beneficial?-were analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Most participants indicated that clinical educator training is important (99.4%). However, 72.4% received no formal training prior to training student. Themes from the importance of training include: Equip clinical educators, body of knowledge, standardize training and quality of training. Themes that emerged from the benefits of clinical educators training involve Training content, logistics, professional behavior and technical skills. CONCLUSION: Clinical educators' training is crucial and valuable. Standardized training on pedagogy and other success strategies are warranted for successful clinical experiences.

The Impact of COVID-19 on the Laboratory Professionals' Clinical Education: a Qualitative Study.

A 48-question survey was developed and disseminated to laboratory professionals. This survey sought the perspective of clinical educators on a variety of topics, including two open-ended questions on the impact COVID-19 had on student clinical rotations and the ensuing policy changes. Of 207 clinical sites that participated in the survey., Some terminated student clinical rotations without offering any other training alternative. Others employed a number of strategies such as shortening the length of clinical rotations, taking fewer students, transitioning to an online learning platform, or delaying training until a future date. Some mandated regular illness checks, symptom checks, and COVID-19 testing when available. Clinical educators expressed concern over the lack of continuity of student clinical training, policy changes related to COVID-19 and student training that were deemed to diminish the quality of the students' clinical education. With terminated, delayed or shortened clinical rotations at many sites, in combination with staff and supply shortages, clinical educators were concerned about the overall quality of clinical education the students were receiving. In addition to these concerns, the reduction of student graduates during the pandemic decreased the number of applicants for job vacancies exasperating a pre-pandemic problem.